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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26786233">Peering through the Looking Glass</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/OktaviaAshford/pseuds/OktaviaAshford'>OktaviaAshford</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Bella in Wonderland [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, F/F, Hurt/Comfort</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 05:48:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,041</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26786233</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/OktaviaAshford/pseuds/OktaviaAshford</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Bella Swan moves back to Forks Washington, and a series of events changes her life forever.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alice Cullen/Bella Swan, Carlisle Cullen/Esme Cullen, Emmett Cullen/Rosalie Hale</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Bella in Wonderland [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1959958</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>33</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Just Alice</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     I’d never given much thought to how I would Die – though I’d had reason enough in the last few months – but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this. Not with her at least.  </p><p>     Forks, Washington was an abysmally small town, one that I would not refer to as home. I had decided to move up here to live with my dad Charlie. My mother and her new husband were constantly traveling for his baseball career and didn’t like the idea of leaving me alone; so, it was either spend the rest of high school traveling the south and being schooled by my mother or live a “normal” life with my dad.</p><p>     The ride from the airport was mostly silent. Charlie attempted to make small talk although he wasn’t very good at it.  After an hour or so we finally arrived at the house. It was the same as it had always been; Charlie never really liked change, so it makes sense.</p><p>     “So, Bells. I have to get to the station to deal with a situation. Um there’s food in the fridge, your room is upstairs like it has always been.”, Charlie said, collecting his stuff in a hurry.</p><p>     “Oh, there’s a gift for you around back, I wanted to make it more “Pomp and circumstance” for you, but welcome home.”, and with that he was out the door.</p><p>     There was definitely a surprise outside for me. A rust orange pickup with a large bow on top of it. He really had gone out of his way for me. For me to feel at home.</p><p>     My room was exactly the way I left it when I was last here a few years ago; Forks was exactly the same as when I left it – Or so I thought.</p><p>     Things became fairly routine pretty quickly, Charlie spent most of the day at the station and would take the occasional fishing trip with Harry Clearwater, an old friend of his. I spent most days around the house reading or doing whatever. Occasionally I would take a small venture out into the woods surrounding the house. Everything about it felt comfortable, from the sweet mossy aromas or the melodic sound of the streams.</p><p>     Today was one of those days, the sun was hidden behind a thick layer of clouds and there was a cool breeze. During one of my many “expeditions” I came across this open meadow that was covered in flowers of all types, it was like a small piece of paradise. It was here that I decided to stop for the time being and just rest.</p><p>     I spent most of the afternoon reading <em> The merchant of Venice </em> and just relaxing in the pool of flowers that surrounded me – that’s when I heard her voice for the first time.</p><p>     It was like a chorus of angels had filled the forest with symphonic melody. I was drawn to it as if it were the chorus of a siren  </p><p>     Needless to say, I was slightly startled by the new sensation, there was never anyone out here – The house itself was several miles away from town and I had to have been several more from any other person.</p><p>     The melody echoed from several directions and I couldn’t seem to locate the source of the sound.</p><p>     “Hello, is somebody out there?”</p><p>     Just as quickly as I started speaking the voice was gone, and all was silent again as if it had never existed – I’m sure it was real – It had to be.</p><p>     The voice has haunted me for days; almost to the point where I’m convinced that I’d completely imagined it. It was driving me mad. I would spend hours every day doing whatever I could to keep my mind off of it; After a while I was able to just convince myself that it had been imagined.</p><p>     Forks high school seemed like a mundane affair, it was by no means a large school or even a small one by most people’s standards, at a mere four-hundred students. Hopefully I could blend in without any trouble, I just want to get through this with out any sort of impact – well at least that’s what I’m hoping for.</p><p>     My classes were nothing special, the standard senior year nonsense. Rather quickly I was able to get an invite into a friend group. Jessica, Eric, Angela, and Mike; they had been friends their entire lives and were more than willing to accept me – It was nice. I had never really been one to surround myself with groups of people, but with them it was different.</p><p>     A few days into the school year was when things started to get weird, I noticed three new people sitting at the table across from us, they weren’t eating and just sitting there</p><p>     “Those are the Cullens.”, Jessica said with me even prompting</p><p>     “The tall one, that’s Emmett and the painfully stuck up blonde next to him is Rosalie.”</p><p>     “And the last one, that’s Alice. She just transferred here a few months ago.” she finished.</p><p>     “How come I haven’t seen them before?” I asked</p><p>     “Doctor Cullen pulls them out of school when the weather is good for health reasons or something like that.”, Mike answered</p><p>     It all seemed rather odd. However there was something strange about Alice – something hypnotic, something alluring.</p><p> </p><p>     The day dragged on until my biology class that afternoon. I was used to sitting alone as I didn’t really know anyone in that particular class.</p><p>     A bit after class had started, I was busy looking at a few different samples with the microscope for our assigned work when I noticed somebody had sat next to me. I decided to pay them no mind and just continued to observe my sample.    </p><p>     “Hey, could I borrow your textbook?”, the new person asked.</p><p>     A sudden realization had hit me. I’ve heard this voice before; In the forest so many weeks ago. The voice that I was ready to believe that I had imagined, when I turned to look at the person speaking to me – It was Alice Cullen.</p><p> </p><p>     “Um, sure.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Blood & Wool</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Bellas life gets even stranger after discovering the identity of her mysterious siren.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW - Implied possibility of assault in the last half.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     Alice didn’t really say much after that other than the occasional murmur about something or another – I wasn’t really able to make out what she was saying, but It really didn’t matter now. She was my mystery siren and I needed to know more.</p><p>     Despite my predicament the day went on fairly normal, except now I had new point fixation – Alice Cullen, the more I observed her the stranger she was. Something was off about her besides her voice, the most blaring thing I was able to notice were her bright crimson eyes; oh, and the way she would just stare into space for long moments of time – All of it was very strange.</p><p>     Biology seemed to be the only class I had with her, and most of the time she rarely spoke to me; She mostly just sat there doodling in her notebook and taking scattered notes here and there. Today was different Alice is sitting next to me and as usual is being her quiet self.</p><p>    When Ms. Ackers announced that we would be doing a basic blood typing test here entire face looked like she had seen something absolutely horrible. She kept side eying me and then glancing at the door. By the time I was lancing my finger and the first drop of blood fell she looked as if she was in excruciating pain and was doing her best to hide it.</p><p>    “Um, hey are you okay?”, I asked</p><p>    She looked at me briefly.</p><p>    “Yes, sorry. Blood makes me a bit… uneasy.”, She replied.</p><p>    “Is there anything I can do to help?”, I replied</p><p>    She nodded her head no and continued to stare forward into space. It was odd, the pain on her face. I’d never seen anything like it before in my life the only thing I could compare it to was a starving animal denying themselves food.</p><p>    When, I looked up from the textbook she was gone, she must’ve left in a hurry because I didn’t even notice she was gone – what was up with her?</p><p>    Lunch was a typical affair, albeit with one difference – no Alice. Her siblings Rosalie and Emmett were here though – I wonder if they know anything about what’s going on with her.</p><p>I muster up whatever stupid courage I have and make my way over to their table.</p><p>    “Hi. I was wondering if your sister Alice is okay. I have biology with her, and she just disappeared; it looked like she was in a lot of pain and I just wanted to make sure she was okay”, I asked</p><p>    Rosalie looked me up and down with a slight hint of disgust on her face, and looked like she was about to murder me with words before her brother stepped in.</p><p>    “Oh, she’ll be fine. She just has a bit of an… issue around blood, it makes her violently ill.”, Emmett responded.</p><p>    “I see, well I took some notes for her, could I just leave them here with you?”, I said as I handed Emmett the notes while the blonde one continued to glare at me mercilessly. I summarily returned to friends who were deep into conversation about the latest tv drama.</p><p>     There was just something about Alice that didn’t add up. Her red eyes, and her overly elegant mannerisms and attributes – also her aversion to blood. It just doesn’t make sense, and I need to know why I’m so drawn to her like a sailor drawn to a siren.</p><p>     She wasn’t in class after that day, and she wasn’t at lunch with the other two either. It was like she just disappeared of the face of the earth – Alice, my mysterious siren had disappeared. With her absence I found myself slipping into a dark place; nothing extremely bad, but everything seemed bleaker with her gone. I had somehow managed to go my entire life without her around and I barely knew her, but its almost as if she had become a foundational piece of my life in Forks. Her existence had become a fact of life, and now she was gone.</p><p>     Even Charlie had noticed the difference, and he is usually blind as a bat to this sort of thing. Regardless of how I felt I had to move on from this obsession – there really was no better word for it.</p><p>     A couple of weeks had passed and worked myself out of my own personal pit of despair. Jessica and Angela had discussed going shopping in Port Angeles to do some dress shopping before prom; they had decided that I should join them so I can give them my oh so valuable input. Charlie seemed to approve of this idea as well and gave me some money to have a good time with my friends.</p><p>     The hour-long ride was uneventful, mostly just Angela and Jessica gossiping about who they hoped would ask them to prom while I was lost in the scenery.</p><p>     “What about you Bella?”, Jessica asked.</p><p>     “Huh?”, I muttered coming back to reality.</p><p>     “Who do you want to go to the dance with?”, Jessica replied.</p><p>     I hadn’t even given it any actual thought to prom, it was just one of those things that never really crossed my mind.</p><p>    “I wasn’t really planning on going to be honest.”, I responded.</p><p>     Jessica looked at me with a bit of concern, like I was puzzle she couldn’t quite put together, and just shrugged it off then went back to her rambles about boys.</p><p>     Dress shopping was everything I had expected it to be. After what seemed like countless eons of complimenting dresses that looked exactly the same, I decided to excuse myself to the bookstore down the road and told Jessica and Angela I’d meet them for dinner.</p><p>     The bookstore was a small local shop, with all different sort of books from local legends to the history of the state. After what was probably hours of browsing, I settled on a book about local monsters as the cover had caught my eye. I paid for the book and sat down in a little booth the shop had to skim through it.</p><p>     A bit through the book something had caught my interest. A local Quileute legend about “Cold Ones” a breed of monster the lived off of human blood. The bit that had piqued my interest was that all of the images and descriptions presented them with crimson eyes – just like Alice.</p><p>     I chuckled internally at this because these were just local superstitions and had absolutely no anchor in reality. If Alice was a Cold One then I was crazy, clearly, she just had some form of disease or disorder and this legend clearly was a way to explain the physical differences of those afflicted with something similar.</p><p>     When I had finished chuckling away my unorthodox conspiracy theories it was nearly eight o’clock, Jessica and Angela were probably wondering where I was as we agreed to meet for dinner about a half an hour ago. Luckily the diner was a few blocks away and I could just tell them I got sidetracked.</p><p>     The fact that it was already dark was concerning; I was in a city I didn’t know, and my phone was practically dead. To make matters worse, there were a handful of guys following behind me; I didn’t want to assume the worst, but I was scared. I had pepper spray in my purse that Charlie had given me. I wasn’t confident that’d I’d be able to flee if something happened, however. There were at least six of them and my attempts to shake them were unsuccessful, and with most of the shops nearby closed there wasn’t exactly a way for me to hide from them.</p><p>     All of them were yelling obscenities at me, of how I was a cold bitch for ignoring them, and how they were going to put me in my place, I ignored them and kept trying to get away faster and faster, my breathing was heavy, I couldn’t keep this up for much longer. I could hear them continuing to call out at me and I just kept walking faster and faster away from them – here I am lost and being followed by creeps. The faster I tried to flee the faster they moved towards me. Something was going to happen; I was clutching the can in my purse.</p><p>     I was passing a small alley when I felt a cold hand grab my arm. I was about to scream when an equally cold hand covered my mouth and I was pulled further into the alley. I continued to struggle, but it was no use – I’m terrified. My heartbeat was all I could hear.</p><p>     When my abductor finally let me go, I was in a small empty apartment. It was dark enough that I could only make out the shadow of the person who had grabbed me. They ware getting closer, saying nothing. I braced myself for the worst, but instead of some sort of physical attack it was a hug.</p><p>     “Oh my god Bella; I thought I was too late.”, an all to familiar voice said.</p><p>     Alice.</p><p>     “W…wh…what’s going on. Alice how did you… what are you doing here.”, It was all I could manage to stammer out.</p><p>     “I saw… I mean I was in the area and I saw those perves following you and had a bad feeling”, she replied.</p><p>     “That doesn’t explain how you… oh never mind. Thank you”, it was all I could manage to get out, I was too shocked.</p><p>     I just fell to the ground sobbing from the stress, and the entire time Alice was there holding onto me.</p><p> </p><p>     “Thank you.”, I sobbed</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. A garden of white and red</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The worst night of Bella's life in Forks gets stranger</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     “Don’t worry Bella, I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.”, Alice assured me as I continued to sob in her arms. I couldn’t stop myself from having a complete meltdown in front of her. When I finally stopped, she still kept holding me. Her embrace was unusually cold, but at the same time I didn’t care. Alice was here and I was safe. We sat in the empty room.</p><p>     “Hey, how about we get you something to eat.”, Alice said while gently lifting my face to look directly into her eye – shoot, I had completely forgotten about Angela and Jessica. They are probably freaking out since they can’t get ahold of me.</p><p>     “Yeah let’s do that, I was supposed to meet my friends at a diner, and they are probably worried about me.”, and with that I was suddenly up on my feet and Alice was leading me out a side door. The entire time we walked down the sidewalk I held onto her arm and felt like the safest person in the world.</p><p>     The men who were pursing me must’ve moved on, as there was nobody else except for Alice and myself. The night was actually beautiful. The closer we got to the diner the more anxious I became, was Alice going to leave me?</p><p>     Soon the diner came into sight and with it Angela’s car, her and Jessica were sitting on the steps of the dinner clearly trying to figure out where I was.</p><p>     “Bella! Where have you been, we were so worried you didn’t answer your phone and we were getting ready to call the police”, she said clearly still frantic from my disappearance.</p><p>     “I’m sorry my phone died, and some things happened, but it’s okay now.”, I replied not sure if I was lying for their sake or my own delusions.</p><p>     Jessica’s face quickly turned to one of concern, rabidly moving her gaze to Alice, me, and back to Alice. This was the one thing I wasn’t exactly sure how to explain. How did the girl who’s been absent for weeks just suddenly reappear and at my side no less – I had the same question. Why was she here and how did she know where I was? Sure, I’m thankful, but it just felt too convenient.</p><p>     While we were standing there someone had come up behind us, I could hear the footsteps behind me, and something came over me. My breathing became heavy and fast, my chest had dropped into my gut. I couldn’t focus on anything but the footsteps, my mind went back to a few hours ago, and I couldn’t function. Alice realizing what was happening just pulled me closer to her and while it didn’t make the bad feelings go away it helped ground me in reality – Like she was my anchor.</p><p>     While I stood there still processing everything that was happening Alice had explained to Jessica and Angela the basics of my situation and offered to drive me home once I had eaten and had a chance to calm down and decompress.</p><p>     After they left Alice led me into the diner and got us a table. She just sat across from me not eating and just reassuring me that everything was going to be fine, that she wouldn’t let anything happen to me. After eating and relaxing for a bit I finally decided to try and muster up the courage to ask her some questions that had been burning in my mind.</p><p>     “Hey Alice, how did you know that those men were trying to hurt me and that I’d be near that alley?”, I asked her with a shaky voice.</p><p>     Her face changed; it was as if I had asked some philosophical question and she was trying to deduce its meaning.</p><p>     “It’s complicated Bella, I’m trying to find an easy way to explain this to you.”, she said.</p><p>     “I don’t care if it’s easy, you are freaking me out so please just tell me what’s going on.”, I replied</p><p>     Once again, her face shriveled up in thought. And it was several minutes before she said anything again.</p><p>     “Okay. Bella the reason I knew where you were is because I can see pieces of the future, and I saw those men assault you. I couldn’t just sit by and let that happen.”, She finally responded.</p><p>     Needless to say, I’m completely taken aback by her answer. I had no rational explanation myself, but never would I have considered this. I just sat there bewildered as Alice continued to explain how she was in the area staying at one of her family’s town houses and had this premonition about me, and quickly planned to pull me away from the situation and get me somewhere safe. I wasn’t sure how to process the information I was given, but I was sure of two things – Alice Cullen was something special, and I was in some way important to her.</p><p> </p><p>     Alice let me just sit there for a while before suggesting that we should get me back home. She left some cash on the table and we left, I held on to her the entire time. Despite how strange everything had become there was something in my head that was assuring me I was safe with her. She led me through the streets to a small house, in front of it was parked a small car. She opened the door and I got in; she quickly made her way to the driver’s side and we were off. Suddenly like a wave I felt exhaustion from the night’s events wash over me, I passed out before we had even left the driveway.</p><p>     I awoke to Alice gently shaking me awake. We were parked in front of the police station. Charlie was outside talking to a man in a doctors coat. Usually Charlie would’ve been home for a few hours by now.</p><p>    “Hey sleepy head, you need to wake up.”, Alice said while opening my door. I hadn’t even noticed she had left the car. I got out of the car and Alice quickly grabbed my arm and we walked over towards Charlie and the other man. They were clearly discussing something important as Charlie had that face he usually puts on when he’s frustrated or talking to my mom.</p><p>    “Hey Bells, what are you doing here? I figured you would’ve been home by now.”, Charlie said the frustration on his face turning to concern.</p><p>     “Yeah, some things happened, but what’s going on here?”, I inquired.</p><p>     “There was an attack at the lake today, several people were murdered, and we can’t find the murderer.”, He seemed concerned, like he had never seen anything like this before.</p><p>     “Until we get this figured out, I don’t want you wandering around in the woods.”, He responded. He quickly introduced me to Carlisle Cullen the doctor he had been speaking with and Alice’s adoptive father. He looked young for a doctor and had the same pale skin as Alice – although his eyes were gold like two dim suns.</p><p>     “Okay dad, sure.”, I answered. However, it didn’t seem to do much to wash away the look of worry on his face. Alice was talking to Carlisle I wasn’t really able to hear what they were saying, but from the looks of it Alice was becoming rather upset – Like they both knew something about this. I was still so tired and worn from everything that had happened tonight; I really couldn’t be bothered right now.</p><p>     “Bells I probably won’t be home tonight with everything that’s going on. So, if you want to head home and I’ll see you in the morning.”, Charlie said.</p><p>     “Actually, if you don’t mind, I was going to have Bella stay over at our place for the weekend.”, Alice interjected and caught me a bit off guard with her suggestion.</p><p>     “That’s a splendid idea, I will call ahead and let Esme know to expect company.”, Carlisle responded in approval at the idea, Charlie didn’t think it over for long at all and agreed to it.</p><p>     We drove back to my house to grab some things for my stay at the Cullens. Alice insisted that I be as quick as possible, so I just grabbed what I needed and shoved it all into an old backpack. Alice Seemed worried, there was clearly something she wasn’t telling me – something that had to do with the situation at the police station. I took a minute to figure out if there was anything, I needed to take with me before we left.</p><p>    “Bella, we need to hurry!”, Alice Shouted from the yard</p><p>    At her insistence I grabbed my bag and made my way out the door. I threw my stuff into the backseat and hopped into the passenger seat. Alice seemed super on edge the entire time, she kept telling me all these little things about her family to help me get acquainted before officially meeting them. She also explained that they may be a bit uncomfortable with me around; however, they will get used to it with time.</p><p>     It was over an hour drive to her house; it was a rather large place nestled in the woods near a lake, lots of stonework and glass – it was gorgeous. Alice pulled into the driveway where Emmett and Rosalie were both waiting, they looked just as nervous as Alice. I grabbed my bag from the back seat and hesitantly got out of the car.</p><p>     “Hey Bella, I can take that in for you.”, Emmett said.</p><p>     “Oh, uh thanks.”, I replied</p><p>     He took the bag and proceeded inside followed by Rosalie. Alice grabbed my arm and gave me a look that insisted everything was fine. She led me down the winding walkway up to the front door. When she led me inside I was stunned, the home was a gorgeous combination of stone, wood, and glass that seemed to work together in perfect harmony. We finally stopped in what Alice had referred to as the parlour. Standing there was a gorgeous woman with brown hair, fair skin just like Carlisle, Alice, and the others – and golden eyes. She was smiling and seemed so inviting.</p><p>     “Hello, my dear, I’m Esme Cullen and you must be Bella. I’ve been made aware that you will be staying with us a few days.”, She said.</p><p>     “Yeah, I guess that’s the plan, Charlie…My dad is working on a case with Carlisle and Alice said it would be better if I stayed with her. So here I am I guess.”, I replied.</p><p>     She simply nodded.</p><p>     “Well that seems like a wonderful idea, I’d have you stay in the guest bedroom however It’s currently not made up so for now you can just stay in Alice’s room.”, She continued. I looked over at Alice and she seemed to be perfectly fine with this idea.</p><p>     Before any more pleasantries could be afforded Alice had insisted to Esme that I was extremely tired and probably wanted to get some sleep – she was right. With that Alice led me several flights of stairs to what I assumed was the attic, but when she opened the door it was so much more. A canopy bed sat surrounded by bookshelves and hundreds of canvases both blank and painted. A small window let the moonlight flow right onto the bed.</p><p>     I would’ve loved to examine every detail of her room, but I was too tired, she must’ve noticed this because she picked me up with such ease and carried me over to the bed.</p><p>     “Bella, you’ve had a long night, please get some sleep. I know you have questions, and I’ll happily answer them for you in the morning, but for now sleep.”, She said.</p><p>     It didn’t take long for me to pass out, and that night despite everything that had happened I probably slept the best I ever had in my life, because Alice was here.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This one took a bit, and im not sure how happy i am with it, but if i kept re-writing it I was going to go crazy.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Broken Dollhouse</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Bella spends the day with Alice</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for the long wait this chapter went through rewrite hell</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     It must’ve been fairly late when I woke up. I was in Alice’s bed – that’s right, I’m at the Cullens. I could hear voices downstairs. Most of it was muddled and unintelligible in my exhausted stat but I heard Alice, she kept talking about having to hide from “him” It was so odd, but I didn’t have much time to process any of it and quickly passed out once again.</p>
<p>     I was surrounded by an endless forest of brightly coloured trees, and a thick fog that covered the ground. It was surreal and breathtaking. The more I wandered through the forest the stranger things got; the trees and flowers turned into something like stained glass or crystal, and I could hear a faint music of a piano in the distance. I started to move towards it.</p>
<p>     “Bella, please don’t.”, I heard Alice’s voice behind me.</p>
<p>     When I turned around there was nothing. I continued to try and get closer to the music.</p>
<p>     “Bella stop.”, once again her voice urged me.</p>
<p>     I couldn’t help it. It was like a siren was pulling me towards it. I started moving closer; this time there was no voice – nothing to stop me.</p>
<p>     The source of the music was a grand piano just sitting there, the keys were pressing themselves. The closer I got the faster the music played – Why would she want to stop me. The sunlight was reflecting across the crystalline trees.</p>
<p>     The music became more chaotic. The gentle scherzo became violent and the rhythm disappeared. Around me the forest turned to black, the once colourful crystals shattered as they hit the ground around me.</p>
<p>     The music stopped.</p>
<p>     I was surrounded by shadows, several large shadows shaped like men. They were slowly moving closer to me trying to grab me. I tried to move, but I was stuck the ground around with me had turned into a black sludge that was holding me in place.</p>
<p>     “Alice! Someone help!”, I pleaded uselessly.</p>
<p>     The shadows got closer and I screamed more. I kept struggling. The shadows grabbed me; they dragged me down into the sludge on the ground. The more I struggled the more I tried to scream, the faster and more intense my abduction became.</p>
<p>     “I tried to warn you.”, The voice said.</p>
<p>     With one final gasp everything went dark.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>     “Bella! Bella! Bella wake up”, Alice was shaking me. I was cold and covered in sweat.</p>
<p>     I was still in her room, in her bed – I was in her arms. My body was shaking and there was no way to stop. Alice pulled me closer to her, trying her best to calm me down.</p>
<p>     “It was just a dream; everything is going to be fine. Nobody will hurt you. I won’t let it happen, Rosalie, Emmett, Carlisle, and Esme will do everything in their power to keep you safe”, She reassured me.</p>
<p>     “I—I’m so sorry.”, I whimpered.</p>
<p>     “There’s no need to apologize, you had a rough night.”</p>
<p>     “Now let’s go downstairs and get you something to eat okay.”, she responded.</p>
<p>     It took me a bit to calm down enough to be able to stand up and get myself in a presentable state; although, I feel like Alice really wouldn’t have cared all things considered. Regardless of how safe I felt with her there was still this anxiety that surrounded me.</p>
<p>     I could tell Alice was concerned about it, but she was doing an extremely good job of trying to hide it. She did her best to maintain her usual happy demeanor. However, it was clear that there was something going on – something that I didn’t need to worry about right now.</p>
<p>     When we got to the kitchen it was apparent that we were the only ones here. Alice decided to take it upon herself to cook for me; it was noticeably clear that she didn’t have much practice at it, but at this point I really didn’t care at this point.</p>
<p>    While she was cooking, she was drabbling on and on about all the stuff we could do this weekend since Charlie was busy with the manhunt and school was out on a long weekend. She turned around to ask me some question and that’s when I noticed something strange there was dried red spot on the corner of her mouth like dried lipstick – but she wasn’t wearing lipstick last night. Her eyes we much brighter than usual as well; instead of their normal deep crimson they were almost like sunlit rubies.</p>
<p>     It was odd, normally somebodies’ eyes don’t change that drastically. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to dwell on it as there was now food being placed in front of me.</p>
<p>    “So, what is your family off to today?”, I asked. Doing my best to make some sort of multi-sided conversation.</p>
<p>    “Carlisle is at the hospital, and the rest decided to go hiking in the mountains.”, Alice replied. That was strange, if there was a manhunt going on, you would think that it would be better to not be in the wilderness.</p>
<p>    “So, what do you want to do today?”, Alice asked.</p>
<p>    I was still so tired and really did not want to go out and do anything.</p>
<p>    “Honestly, I would really just like to rest.” In all reality I just wanted to go back to bed, however I doubt Alice would let that happen. She was a busy body that much was apparent.</p>
<p>    “I guess that’s fine.”, She replied somewhat disappointed</p>
<p>    For the most part I was left to my own devices, occasionally Alice would check on me to see if I needed anything if I were to describe the day it would be peaceful. Although, there was something strange about the Cullens home. It was all things that could be easily dismissed. Like for a family of five they had very little food, and what they did have was very new. It really didn’t add up.</p>
<p>    By the time the evening had rolled around I was bored with scrolling around on my phone and remembered the book of Quileute legends I had bought the previous night. With nothing better to do and with Alice stepping out to get a few things I figured it was something to do.</p>
<p>    The Quileute tribe had a lot of different stories regarding the surrounding area. Stories of great warriors, and fantastic beasts. There was a decent sized section of the book dedicated to “cold-ones”, blood sucking monsters akin to vampires that had plagued the tribes in the surrounding areas in the past.</p>
<p>    They were described as having cold pale skin, and crimson red eyes – Just like Alice. I almost laughed at the thought of Alice being a supernatural monster. However, some things were adding up.</p>
<p>    These thoughts were ridiculous. Monsters don’t exist – but the evidence proved otherwise, and the more I thought about it the more sense it made. She already admitted to me that she had some form of supernatural ability and she fit the bill perfectly; the only thing I had yet to fully confirm was a diet of blood, but I’ve never seen her eat, drink, or anything of that nature. The evidence I have certainly isn’t enough to know for sure, but I felt this was something I had a right to know about – Like it or not Alice’s life has become tangled with mine. The only logical solution was to ask.</p>
<p>    If I was going to confront her and get the answers that I wanted it needed to be the right place and time – surely, she’ll see this coming and be prepared. However, if I was correct, I needed a way out if things went sideways.</p>
<p>    By the time Alice got back I had devised a plan. I would confront her in the forest, if the legends were correct she would be faster than me, but maybe I could hide. The only unstable variable was her foresight; I had no clue exactly how it works or what its limitations were, but I would have to work around it.</p>
<p>    Alice was in the kitchen placing thing in the cabinets. I had to make the first move, and now was the time.</p>
<p>    “Hey Alice, you want to go for a walk in the woods.”, I asked.</p>
<p>    She paused. Seemingly preparing a response. – had she seen this?</p>
<p>    “Sure! That sounds lovely. Just let me finish putting these things away.”, she said excitedly.</p>
<p>    Either she had no idea what I had planned, or she was just acting the part. While she finished what she was doing I prepared myself for what was coming. I prepared my inquiry ahead of time and was ready to go.</p>
<p>    Despite what was coming I couldn’t help but to be amazed by the beauty of the forest surrounding the Cullens home. The trees and mild layer of fog made it seem like I had died and woken up in a fantasy world – the irony wasn’t lost on me.</p>
<p>    Alice walked beside me the entire time, showing me all of her favourite spots around the area. Nothing about her mannerisms or demeanor suggested that she knew what I was up too – or she was just that good at hiding it. We had stopped near a gorgeous clearing for a moment so I could catch my breath, I was still so exhausted from the previous night and the fervour I’ve worked myself into was taking its toll. If there was a perfect time this would probably be it; there’s no point in delaying the inevitable.</p>
<p>    Deep breath.</p>
<p>    One.</p>
<p>    Breath.</p>
<p>    Two.</p>
<p>    Three.</p>
<p>    “Alice, I need to ask you something.”, I said.</p>
<p>    She seemed calm still.</p>
<p>    “Bella you can ask me anything.”, she replied calmy.</p>
<p>    She knows.</p>
<p>    Here we go.</p>
<p>    “Alice, what are you?”, I asked bluntly.</p>
<p>    “You already know the answer.”, she responded</p>
<p>    She was right – I already knew, but I wanted to hear it from her.</p>
<p>    “I’ve never once seen you eat, and I’m willing to bet you don’t sleep.”</p>
<p>    “Your skin is pale and cold as ice, your eyes are like rubies.”, I continued.</p>
<p>    I took another deep breath and took a few steps back to put a bit of distance between us.</p>
<p>    “That is correct.”, she responded in a matter-of-fact tone that really pissed me off – she was playing with me.</p>
<p>    “You don’t age either, how old are you?”</p>
<p>    “nineteen.”, she responded</p>
<p>    “And how long have you been nineteen?”, I asked</p>
<p>    “about a hundred years.”</p>
<p>    That sealed it. She was an immortal – an immortal monster.</p>
<p>    My morbid inquisition was giving me the answers I wanted. I had expected more aggression, but she didn’t give me anything other than calm matter-of-fact answers. It was time to drive it home with the coup de gras.</p>
<p>    “You’re a vampire, aren’t you?”, I finally asked.</p>
<p>    “Yes.”</p>
<p>    “There’s a lot more to it than that Bella, but you are correct. If you want more answers, I can give you them however, I prefer to do it with the rest of my family.”, she responded.</p>
<p>    This was a fair request I had performed a full inquisition and whether she had foreseen it or not I doubt she was able to fully prepare herself. More than likely she was trying to keep this a secret and I’ve shattered every single lock on that safe.</p>
<p>    “Okay.”, I agreed.</p>
<p>    The walk back to the Cullens was anxiety inducing. Alice was keeping her distance and I was exhausted; I had used more energy than I had, and I was starting to feel feint.  It wasn’t too much longer before I found it difficult to keep moving. Alice must’ve noticed because the next thing I knew she had picked me up and was effortlessly carrying me. My vision began to fade, and everything started to go dark.</p>
<p>     “Don’t worry Bella, you’re safe”, were the last words I heard.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Veil of Tears</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Bella and Alice have some important conversations.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Tried my best to get this one out before the end of the year and just barely made it!</p><p>Apologies for the long delay between chapters, I've had a lot on plate the last few months.</p><p>Hope you enjoy.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     There were no dreams this time, just dark. When I came to, I was back at the Cullens; Alice had placed me on the sofa. The entire family was sitting around in the living room just staring at me. It was terrifying, they were all still as stone not making a single sound.</p><p>     “Bella darling are you okay? Alice told us you had quite the day.”, Esme finally broke the silence.</p><p>     “Um-Yeah, I think so.”, I replied groggily.</p><p>     Alice must’ve told them what happened, why else would they be grouped around me like this – other than general concern.</p><p>     “So, Alice has informed explained that you have stumbled on our little secret.”, Carlisle finally spoke up.</p><p>     This was how it’s going to be then. I doubt any actual harm would come to me as if that were the intention Alice could have easily disposed of me in the forest. Everyone seems to have friendly intentions here – no not friendly, it was disguised concern</p><p>    “Bella I understand that you have questions and we are more than willing to answer them for you.”, Carlisle said. “I want to promise that we aren’t angry, and we are not going to hurt you.”, Carlisle continued.</p><p>     He was being sincere. It seems like they care about me – which is odd. I was essentially just some stranger that Alice picked up off the street. I’m sure her visions had something to do with this – somehow.</p><p>     “Um. I guess you could say I have a few questions, and I really do appreciate your hospitality.”, I said.</p><p>     Esme and Carlisle both smiled at this as if they were amused by my timid response.</p><p>     “Well as you suspected and as Alice confirmed; We are vampires.”, Carlisle said. “And according to Alice you also seem to have done your research. So, ask away, nothing is off limits.”, he continued.</p><p>     Here we go.</p><p>     “How does somebody become like you?”, I asked.</p><p>     “Our bodies produce a “venom” it is supposed to incapacitate our prey and make it easier to feed; however, if it is allowed to run its course through a humans body it will change them and turn them into one of us.”, Carlisle responded nonchalantly.</p><p>     “As for our diet, we are different than most of our kind. While “Normal” vampires sustain themselves with a diet of human blood; we feed of off animals, and generally frown on the murder of humans.”, Carlisle said. “Alice being the newest member of the family is still new to our diet, however she is acclimating quite well.”</p><p>    “So, you have to consume blood; are vampires responsible for the recent murders?”, this seemed like a reasonable question.</p><p>    “Yes.”, Carlisle responded, “My son Edward is currently a bit of a wayward soul you could say. It would probably be best if Alice explained that part to you as the situation involves both of you.”. Pieces were falling into place, and now I was getting answers.</p><p>    “Why is he killing people when it’s going to draw attention to him, what does it have to do with me?” I asked.</p><p>     “I had visions of you coming to Forks; Edward also saw my visions and he became extremely upset. Edward is – possessive and as the visions continued, he became increasingly more violent towards me and the rest of the family.” Alice spoke up.</p><p>     “Eventually he decided that you were the problem, and he has been hunting you for the last several weeks. He wouldn’t do anything in public or with one of us nearby, so when you haven’t been with me, either Rosalie or Emmett have been close enough to intervene.”, She continued. “Bella I care about you a lot, and so does my family; we want you to be safe.”</p><p>     So, the Cullens had essentially been stalking me the entire time I’d been here. I should be upset by this; however, it was for my own safety.</p><p>     “I’m sorry, but this is a lot for me to take in right now.”, I say excusing myself to the patio to get some fresh air and clear my head.</p><p>     I didn’t hold anything against the Cullens, they were just trying to protect me, but I can’t help but feel like my relationship with Alice was artificial. She had been there for me several times over the week – A week, it feels like it’s been months; it’s clear that I’ve fallen head over heels for her, but now I wonder if she feels the same.</p><p>     I feel like it’s selfish for me to want something more from her when she’s already given so much.</p><p>     I felt a cold hand touch my shoulder, “Bella, is everything okay?”, It was Alice. She seemed concerned.</p><p>     “Yeah, everything is fine; there is just a lot for me to process right now.”, I felt so conflicted, this was the perfect opportunity to just spill my heart to her – my doubts, fears, and love; all of it laid out for her to see.</p><p>     I need to find the words to speak to her. There is so much that I want to tell her. She can see the future so surely, she knows how I feel about her – no this was something I had to do for myself; I can’t just wait for another supernatural occurrence to bail me out of this dilemma.</p><p>    One deep breath and another for good measure.</p><p>    “Actually Alice, I have a question for. Not about the vampire stuff, but about something else.”, I said.</p><p>    Here we go it’s time to get this over with.</p><p>    “When I’m around you I feel like safe, and I really like spending time with you. You are always so kind to me, and as much as I want to repay you for everything I can’t. I know I’ve only known you for a couple weeks, but it feels like a lifetime.”, I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks, and I’m sure it was pretty obvious to her as well.</p><p>    “So. Alice what am I to you? Am I just a friend, or something more?”, I finally asked her.</p><p>     In that moment everything went silent and she just stood there with the biggest shit eating grin I had ever seen.</p><p>     “If we were just friends, I wouldn’t be doing this.”, she responded.</p><p>     Alice pulled me to her – she was strong for her size. Her eyes stared into mine intensely like small pools of blood. I felt helpless; she had complete control and I was helpless – loving every minute of it.</p><p>     In an instant her lips were pressed against mine and it was a moment of complete bliss. Her cold skin didn’t even phase me; everything around me melted. The only thing that mattered in the world was Alice – My Alice.</p><p>     When it was over, I was left breathless with Alice still holding me. I never wanted to forget this feeling; everything about it felt right. It felt as if every single part of my life had led up to this moment.</p><p>     “Bella, I will never let anything happen to you. You mean everything to me. If anybody were to try and hurt you; those men, Edward, or anybody I would end them.”, she was still looking into my eyes, and I was absolutely mesmerized.</p><p>     “Come on let’s get you out of the cold, there are still things we need to discuss with the family.”, she said.</p><p>     She put her arm around me and led me back inside. I was grinning like an idiot the entire time, and it was clear that the rest of the Cullens had heard our conversation as they all seemed to have same jovial smile.</p><p>     “So, let’s pick up where we left.”. Esme Said.</p><p>     Everyone nodded in agreement, and Alice ushered me over to the couch where I sat with my head rested on her shoulder.</p><p>     “With Edward going after you I figured it would be best to keep you here with us for as long as possible. He would never attack you with so many of us around.”, Carlisle said. “However, the current problem, is that you can’t just stay here forever. You have an actual role in this town that you are expected to play.”</p><p>     He was right. Eventually I would be expected to go back home to Charlie and go back to school as well. Sure, Alice would still be there but from the sounds of it there is now a higher risk involved with this.</p><p>     “So then what do we do? If Edward is after me, then surely, he wouldn’t have any problems hurting Charlie, Jessica, Angela, or the others to hurt me.”, I responded. Esme looked at me with sympathy in her expression; she knew what is was thinking – what I was feeling</p><p>     This is a no-win scenario, I was out of my element with all of this. There were two things I was absolutely sure of. One, Alice and the Cullens were putting their lives at risk for me. Two, I am now a danger to my friends and family.</p><p>     “Well, that’s the dilemma. Bella you are family now as far as we are concerned, and nobody will hurt our family.”, Esme spoke up. “We have considered several options over the last few days. With you still living with Charlie; it would be impractical for us to just pack up and disappear, but if we stay then we are putting the people of Forks at risk.”.</p><p>     The options weren’t great. I found myself considering what Charlie would think if his only daughter just up and disappeared when there was a murderer stalking the town – it would absolutely devastate him; he lost my mother and he would lose me; this wasn’t an option worth considering. On the other hand, however if they stay then any casualties would be because of me. I don’t know if I could live with that.</p><p>     “So then what are we going to do then?”, I asked.</p><p>     “Well, currently the plan is to maintain the current status quo. We will keep you here for as long as possible, which shouldn’t be difficult considering that Charlie will be busy with the manhunt and most likely wouldn’t mind you not being alone.” Esme responded. “We will probably be able to keep this up for another week or so, and hopefully by then the issue will be resolved or we will have a better plan.”.</p><p>     Whatever happens I would still be with Alice so that would be fine. There really wasn’t much left to say at this point. I mean even if I were to just up and disappear Charlie and the others would be safe – hurt, but safe.</p><p>     “This is a lot for me process right now. I would really like to sleep on this if that’s okay?”</p><p>     “That is perfectly acceptable Bella. This isn’t something that we expected you to deal with in a single night.”, Carlisle responded.</p><p>&lt;-&lt;-&lt;-&lt;-&lt;-&lt;-&lt;-&lt;-&lt;-&lt;-&gt;-&gt;-&gt;-&gt;-&gt;-&gt;-&gt;-&gt;-&gt;-&gt;</p><p>     I just laid there in Alice’s bed staring at the ceiling. There was so much going through my head, so many different feelings; I was apparently being hunted by a psychopath, my friends and family were in danger, oh and my girlfriend is a vampire. I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like; to be graceful, and immortal – at what cost?</p><p>     I don’t think I could live forever, not at the risk of seeing Charlie, Mom, or my friends wither away and eventually fade from memory; however eventually I would die, and Alice would be alone as well – no she would still have her family, and there will always be other people she could love. I shouldn’t be thinking like this.</p><p>     Possibly the hardest part to comprehend is how this Edward person thought I would be such a threat to him. What had Alice seen in her visons that would cause so many problems? My brooding was cut short when Alice walked into the room.</p><p>     “So, how are you handling things?”, she asked as she sat next to me on the bed.</p><p>     “As well as I can to be honest, there really is a lot to think about”, I responded.</p><p>     “I just want everyone to be safe.”</p><p>     “Everyone will be safe Bella. Like Carlisle said He and Esme will talk some sense into Edward. It’s just going to take some time.”, she continued. She was running her hands through my hair. I could only manage to feel relaxed at this point, all my worries melted away when she was with me.</p><p>     I wanted to believe her; there were just things that were to hard to believe in, but I trust Her and the rest of the Cullens.</p><p>     “It doesn’t matter right now Bella. Just relax.”, she said. Relax. That sounded nice; sleep sounded nice, especially after today. I rested my head on Alice’s lap – absolute bliss; nothing could touch me here.</p><p>     The forest was cold. The trees were adorned with frosted crystals that reflected the moonlight like thousands of stars. The breeze carried a familiar melody through the air.</p><p>     I followed the sound to a clearing, and in it sat a piano that was once again playing itself. In front of it was a short bench. When I sat down the music stopped, but the keys were still moving.</p><p>     I felt compelled to follow there movements by some unforeseen force, and so I did. As I played, I began to hear the melody again.</p><p>     “This is nice isn’t it?”</p><p>     Startled I looked around to find the source of the voice, but there was nothing, and so I continued playing.</p><p>     “You could stay here you know? You could be happy here, forever – with me.” It was right next to me this time. When I turned to face it, I could’ve sworn I was looking into a mirror.</p><p>     In front of me was myself, a perfect reflection playing along with me. Something was off however She – I looked different; my features were more defined, my skin shimmered in the light, and my eyes were crimson pools – I was a vampire.</p><p>     “Do you like what you see? You can be just like me; all you have to do is ask, I’m sure Alice would oblige.”, the apparition said, “Just imagine how powerful you would be, you could protect yourself and everyone else.”</p><p>     It was right, with that kind of power I wouldn’t be so helpless. I could fend for myself, but with everything to gain surely there is something to lose.</p><p>     “I don’t think that is something I want.”, I reply in confidence.</p><p>     “Very well. you may change your mind someday, and I’ll be here when you do.”</p><p>     The music stopped, and just like last time everything went dark; however, this time there were no shadow people – just silence.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks to everyone for reading, I hope you all enjoyed the start of my latest project</p></blockquote></div></div>
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